Sea Kings sweat in win

Bryce Alderton

Playing with a large lead was just as, if not, more difficult than

protecting a small advantage for the Corona del Mar High baseball

team against pesky Calvary Chapel Friday afternoon.

The host Sea Kings took a 6-0 lead through three innings, but

Calvary Chapel hardly backed down, scoring six times in the final

four innings to make the defending CIF Southern Section Division IV

champions sweat just a bit.

Fortunately, the Sea King bats awoke just enough to plate an

additional two runs in the fifth and escaped with an 8-6 victory,

their second win over the Eagles in three days.

Calvary scored twice in the top of the ninth -- taking advantage

of four walks in the inning -- and had the bases loaded with two

outs.

But Sea King junior left-hander Eric Eadington induced a flyout to

right secure the victory.

The Sea Kings (13-4, 6-1 in league) remained one game behind

first-place Tesoro in the league standings with their fifth straight

win, though it wasn’t easy.

“I thought when we went up, 6-0, we would take care of business,

but give [the Eagles] credit, they battled,” CdM Coach John Emme

said.

The Eagles’ record (4-9, 0-7) is deceiving, Emme said.

“They play us tough every game,” Emme said. “They should have won

the first time we played them [a 5-1 CdM victory Tuesday].”

CdM, which has now won 21 of its last 22 league games dating to

all of last season, lost 11 seniors from the 2004 squad, including

CIF Division IV Player of the Year Barrett Sprowl.

“We can’t take anyone lightly,” Emme said.

Sea King hitters hardly relaxed out of the gate, scoring five

times on six hits, including three doubles, in the second and

following with an unearned run in the third.

Three of CdM’s runs in the fifth came with two outs. Consecutive

doubles by seniors Andy Frenkiel and Tyler Ray and a single by senior

Wess Presson all brought in runs, giving sophomore starting pitcher

Vinnie St. John a sizable cushion.

Like CdM’s early offensive outburst, St. John started strong,

taking command of a severely-breaking curveball that confused several

Eagle hitters.

The right-handed St. John retired eight straight and nine of

Calvary’s first 11 batters -- fanning four in the process -- before

surrendering three runs on four hits and one error in the fourth as

the Eagles trimmed their deficit to 6-3.

“[The Eagles] started sitting on his fastball, which he got up a

bit,” Emme said of St. John. “He’d be fine if he kept it down.”

Emme pulled St. John, who entered the game with a .689 ERA,

allowing two earned runs in 20 1/3 innings in that span, after the

fourth in favor of Austin Elliott for the fifth.

The Eagles rudely greeted Elliott with three straight singles and

a run and Emme called upon Eadington, who promptly struck out the

first three batters he faced and leave two Calvary runners stranded.

Eadington, who often blew high fastballs past several Calvary

hitters, struck out six in three innings of relief.

“He’s had some control problems, but we need him to step up like

he did [Friday],” Emme said of Eadington. “That was a big

improvement. I’m optimistic. If we are going to finish out this thing

well, we are going to need Eric.”

CdM bats finished strong Friday with two runs in the fifth -- both

brought in on consecutive doubles from Ray and Frenkiel.

Five Sea Kings had at least two hits. CdM pounded six doubles as

part of its 13-hit attack.

Frenkiel finished 2 for 5 with two doubles, three RBIs and two

runs scored while Ray went 2 for 4 with two doubles, two RBIs and a

run scored.

A slight change in his swing Thursday contributed to the offensive

outburst, Frenkiel said.

“I started waiting back,” Frenkiel said. “I was always in front of

the ball. It seemed to help.”

Presson tallied two hits in three at-bats with an RBI and Taylor

Alston, a regular starter in the infield who filled in for injured

sophomore Jake Lemmerman at second base Friday, singled three times

and scored a run.

Lemmerman has a sore muscle in his shoulder blade and was kept out

of both games this week as a precaution, Emme said.

“We’ll test it Monday,” Emme said.

Andrew Williamson and R.J. Duernberger each doubled and scored one

run for CdM.

Pacific Coast League

Corona del Mar 8,

Calvary Chapel 6

Score by Innings

*--*

CC 0 0 0 3 1 0 2 - 6 9 1

CdM 0 5 1 0 2 0 x - 8 13 1

*--*

Wishmyer, Rickets (3), Heben (5) and Wilson; St. John, Elliott

(5), Eadington (5) and Williamson. W -- St. John, 3-0. L -- Wishmyer,

1-3. 2B -- Frenkiel 2 (CdM), Ray 2 (CdM), Williamson (CdM),

Duernberger, Bermel (CC), Stout (CC), Wilson (CC), .